440: The Last Stand of the Acadian Forest

The scene looks like one painted with the words of Tolkien: moss covered rocks, a babbling brook, various low shrubs, and monstrous trees fill the landscape. The photo I’m describing is this week’s episode art, and was taken by the guest you’ll hear from today. It’s truly beautiful, and exactly what I imagined when we started talking about the Acadian forests of Nova Scotia. It’s also gone. Full of biodiversity, hundreds of years old, and filling an ecological role that’s difficult to fully comprehend, the Acadian forests of Atlantic Canada are under attack. Clearcutting, ineffective replanting, backroom politics, and disinformation are creating a hazardous situation that, according to our guest Cliff Seruntine, is hitting the crisis point. A member of Stop Spraying and Clearcutting Nova Scotia, Cliff says there is less than 1% of the original Acadian Forest left – and it is being cut 20 times faster than it can rejuvenate itself. Cliff joined Defender Radio to discuss the unique ecosystems found in the Acadian Forests, what’s driving the clear cutting, and what ecological and economic solutions exist to replace this dangerous industry.

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